BIG DEALS @ JONATHAN ADLER

I noticed some of my favorite designs now on sale at Jonathan Adler. Why not introduce some colorful accessories into your home for spring?  Swing on over to his website for deals on some of his brightly-colored classics. If you like graphic needlepoint pillows in crazy colors, need a set of fun dog bowls or a geometric trays to serve sweets, you, my friend, are in luck. 

Here are some of the goodies included:

Photos courtesy of Jonathan Adler

These Bargello graphic geometric pillows take a sofa from basic to brilliant in seconds flat.

Mix up the patterns like the Honeycomb for a full-on Adler invasion.

Little Piggy all dressed up in polka dots holds the cookies.

Carnaby porcelain nesting trays in a mix of 3 patterns add a dash of fun for jewelry on your nightstand or serving little treats.

Hold down piles of paper in style with monogram needlepointed letter paperweights. Anything personalized makes a great go-to gift.

LOVE these.  Pull out the coasters for canapes and olives, they are good to have on hand with cocktails to entertain your world weary friends.

Your dog can enjoy mealtime in style with vividly striped stoneware dog bowls in an array of colorful alternating stripes.

This poppy square patterned Peter alpaca throw in a graphic artistic style for a burst of color on upholstery.

 

Last but not least, the Preston Game Table in stamped faux-croc  can perform double duty as a card and dining table for smaller living spaces.

I'M BLOWING INTO CHICAGO APRIL 18th FOR THE BOTANIC GARDEN ANTIQUES AND GARDEN FAIR

Photos courtesy of Chicago Botanic Garden

All this chatter about spring really has me excited for it. One way I can force it's arrival is by surrounding myself with as many flowers and greenery as I can. The opportunity to do just that is on my horizon, as I head to Chicago April 18th for the Chicago Botanic Garden Antiques and Garden Show. I have been asked, along with other bloggers I adore and always learn from-- Peak of Chic's Jennifer Boles and EEE's Emily Evans Eerdmans-- to participate in Living with Color: Style Bloggers’ Musings on Super-Chic Living panel, moderated by the one and only Julia Reed. Girl power will be in the house, and so will Honorary Chair Michael S. Smith talking on his new May 2013 book, Building Beauty, and Charlottesville, Va-based classical landscape designer Charles Stick. A pretty stellar line up to be sure, so I am looking forward to learning from the greats. But lest we forget the shopping to be had, as antique dealers, garden statuary and home accessories fill the rows of aisles with garden-themed ephemera old and new.

The lectures will occur at the Alsdorf Auditorium in the Regenstein Center:

Friday April 19th:

11am- "Building Beauty", Michael S. Smith

Saturday April 20th:

11am- "Looking at Gardens", Charles Stick

2pm- "Blogger Style Panel Living with Color: Style Bloggers’ Musings on Super-Chic Living" with The Peak of Chic’s Jennifer Boles, Stylebeat’s Marisa Marcantonio, and design historian Emily Evans Eerdmans. The moderator of this discussion will be the delightful Julia Reed,  contributing editor at Garden and Gun and Elle Decor and the Wall Street Journal in addition to author of four books, including the upcoming "But Mama Always Put Vodka in Her Sangria: Adventures in Eating, Drinking, and Making Merry." The dialogue is sure to inspire your design senses as each of these women discusses her unique viewpoint on living and entertaining with style, including favorite finds for the home

Sunday April 21st:
11am- "From The Ground Up" by The Organic Gardener Ltd. founder and consultant Jeanne Pinsof Nolan 

For tickets and to learn more, click here. If you find yourself in Chi Town or a neighboring suburb, I hope  you will come for the weekend, to hear, learn and see everything the stunning Botanic Garden has to offer for this, the 13th year of the Antiques and Garden Fair. Just think, maybe spring will be here by then. Looking forward to seeing your friendly face in the audience!

NEW BABY? THE BEST GIFT TO BRING ON YOUR VISIT

With spring comes new babies and the need for great baby gifts. So many friends have just had stork deliveries or have them on the way. When I came across this brightly colored geometric needlepoint Hand Sanitizer Cozy, I knew Jonathan Adler had created a winner. The cover slips over the hand sanitizer bottle adding instant style to an otherwise drab nursery necessity. They also make nice gifts to ward off the ever-present flu germs that have been in wide circulation this winter. Either way, every home could benefit from a dash of style when it comes to germ maintenance.

THE GRAPHIC GET: DURO OLOWU FOR JCP

 Photos courtesy of JCP

One of the first exciting home launches to come from the newly re-branded and re-styled JCP is that from a bright light of British fashion,  insider Duro Olowu. Graphic global prints and patterns have made Nigerian Duro Olowu's femme dresses, carried at Net a Porter and Kirna Zabete sought after by fashion cognoscenti. The British-based designer  has partnered with JCP for a fashion and home accessories collection, bringing his zig zag and floral fun to the masses. In a limited run, the debut of his designs mean spring is around the corner. Their joyous feeling is hard to resist.

Getting ziggy with it, dessert plates come in striking color combinations

Like a zooming bumble bee, the yellow and black combo

The blue and white pairing is erfect for a seaside escape.

Teeming with paisley and blooms the 14 inch platter is party-ready.

This wavy blue and white pattern would be at home in Santorini or South Beach.

Memorialize great shots in a diamond-pattern geo in red, white, blue and black print frame. The print, created by artist Bella Foster, is part of the collab efforts.

 The same kicky pattern play comes to life in a small rug. It is just the thing to add a pop of color to a bathroom or kitchen.

Another great color combination pairs green, yellow, brown and white

MORE STYLISH SHOPPING IN HOUSTON: THOMPSON AND HANSON

Manager and buyer Kathy Frietsch 

Bringing the best of the French countryside to River Oaks, Houston, Thompson and Hanson have created something special, an escapist enclave like no other. Their creative vision combines the best of four worlds.  A beautiful complex incorporates a landscape architecture firm, garden center, retail shop and chic cafe, Tiny Boxwoods. You see this sort of set up in England and France, but the concept is not as widespread here. They have created a true destination that is worth seeking out when you are next in Houston. The owners take world-wide shopping jaunts and bring back the best Belgian and French antiques, unique terra cotta planters, Provencal urns, garden ornaments, linens and more. The ever changing assortment, housed in their long space with grey wood rafters, includes hard to find scented candles, Italian leather trays, tole, Italian printed paper goods, and decorative accessories to make you swoon.  The mix of materials, shapes and surfaces paired with greenery makes the array a feast for the eyes. If you visit, go hungry, and head across the pebbled path to Tiny Boxwoods for yummy elevated comfort food in a beautiful setting.

 Rough hewn wooden dining tables mingle with woven wicker chairs and metal side tables. As you can see, the space includes many chic discoveries.

 The dramatic ceiling height adds to the sun dappled space's magic.

 This whole set-up is ready for a sunroom.

Italian paper accessories, notecards, and porcelain vases have gift giving covered.

Painted tole flowers and potted agave in a pretty moment.

These French photophores illuminated by led candles had me at hello. I am obsessed with them. I have never seen anything like them and probably never will. The trefoil cut out, leaf detail on the lid and simple base make them ideal around a pool.

This antique mirror has loads of character with it's chipped paint finish. Next to a stark wooden plank planter, each piece really comes alive.

Entertaining-ready linen napkins, beautiful cutting boards and storage baskets.

This pair of antique Louis chairs of a medium-hued wood were so simple and so good.

Their global shopping trips mean they score wonderful finds like these Italian leather trays and candles encased in bright leathers.

The oval leather tray in the brightest orange and taupe colored leather accessories were beyond.

The nursery, where you can have arrangements and container gardens made up on the spot.

A container garden mixing hearty green plants and flowering plants. Behind is the landscape architecture office.

A heavenly arrangement of a reddish cabbage. So elegant and spare.

The assortment.

A stroll across the courtyard takes you to best brunch at Tiny Boxwoods. They also happen to have the best chocolate chip cookie in town.

MEET PIGEON AND POODLE: ACCESSORIES TO CHIC UP YOUR BATH

I've said it before and I will say it again, sometimes the best designs are the simplest. Functional, clean-lined easy to use practical pieces with a dash of style, Pigeon and Poodle's bath accessories, trays and picture frames are a great new entrant in the home accessories world. I think you two are going to become good friends. Here are some of their designs I saw at the Gift Show that accentuate current design trends in a nice, subtle way. Faux bois? Got that. Inlaid shells and woven seagrass? Got that too. Go tropical or go city glam.  Freshen up your vanity with accessories that speak to your locale, or the one you want to be in.

Burma, a clean white textural faux bois pattern.

Cannes, a glamorous inlaid pen shell veneer that resembles tortoise.

For the shore house, Chelston, a woven abaca in seafoam green.

For a Chinoiserie accent, hand-painted art-inspired patterns on Datong.

A chunky seagrass on Destin makes it destined to be a favorite in tropical locales.

Three lidded storage compartments make Gaya an inlaid bone pattern a chic choice for city or country baths.

The popular textured sea urchin pattern is still hot, as seen on Hilo, a patterned white porcelain with softly curved lines.

Bleached rattan set in resin provides Kona with a strong resemblance to cerused oak and grass cloth walls- everything a beach house needs.

Lugano is encased in the Kabibi shell, giving it a slightly pearly luster.

If you like something more dark and mysterious there is Luxor of matte black marble.

The wicker Malabar is my favorite, as it channels old Palm Beach with newness.

Manchester faux shagreen in a fresh blue green is refreshing.

Glam it up with Moritz, a silvery mother of pearl veneer.